The Call of the Wild
by StoryCrafter
Summary: The Foutleys, the Bishops, the Lightfoots, and Blake and Noelle have all gone on what they had hoped would be a funfilled camping trip together. Unfortunately, they are not alone.
1. Camping Out

The Call of the Wild

Chapter 1: Camping Out

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Posted: 1 Mar 2006

Camping was for yuppies. But where did that leave Carl and Hoodsey? They were in the woods miles from anywhere trapped with their sisters and parents. And Carl couldn't rid himself of the feeling that Blake was in the area, watching him. Plotting his plans. Especially since the Griplings were vacationing in Aspen.

But Blake didn't get along with his sisters. Which was something he and Carl had in common, incidentally. Carl sat on the log watching Ginger laughing with Dodie and Macie. He leaned over to Hoodsey, who was on a tree stump.

"Told you nothing good would come of this trip."

"What do you mean? I mean the girls are just sitting there, our Moms-"

"That's just it, Hoodsey. No doubt they are planning our dooms at this very moment."

Hoodsey started to freak out. "Not Dodie. She couldn't. She wouldn't."

Carl placed his hand on his shoulder. "Just remember one thing, my friend. She's a girl. Who knows what she's thinking."

"Uhh," Hoodsey began. "Other girls?"

Carl considered for a second. "You know, Hoodsey, you're absolutely right. Only a girl would know what another is thinking."

"But, Carl, what girl is going to help us?"

"Noelle."

"But how are we going to contact her?"

"Just leave that to me, Hoodsey." And then he crouched down and put his finger to his mouth. And he stuck into it.

"How is sticking your finger into your mouth going to help you contact Noelle, Carl?"

He raised his other finger. "Just a minute."

He whistled.

Hoodsey waited a minute. Then another minute. And for good measure, a minute on top of that.

"How would we know if we get into contact?" he said after the wait.

Carl took the finger out of his mouth. "Here she comes."

Indeed, Noelle did come out of the woods at finishing of his statement. Hoodsey popped up like toast.

"Carl, we need to talk."

"Whoa, how did you that, Carl?"

Noelle turned to Hoodsey. "How did he do what?"

"He contacted you somehow."

She stabbed a finger at Carl. "He didn't contact me. I came on my own free will."

"You sure about that?" Carl smirked.

Noelle glared at Carl. "I'm the one with paranormal powers, remember?"

"I remember." He stared at Noelle.

She stared back. "Good."

"I hate to break it to you guys," Hoodsey said, "but I'm sensing a lot of tension here."

Noelle looked at Carl. "He's right, you know."

Carl just smiled knowingly.

"What are you hiding, Mr. Smarty Pants?" Noelle had stood and had her balled hands on her hips.

"The truth."

"I don't know what…"

"Two words, Noelle. Candid photos."

Noelle froze when she heard. _My gosh! What secret could Noelle be hiding?_ Hoodsey thought. But upon closer inspection of her face, he began wonder if he _did_ want to know. He began to feel a drop of sweat on the back of his head. Whatever they were involved in, it was huge. He hoped they would change the subject.

They did.

"Say, Noelle," Carl said, "did you pass by our camp on your way here?"

"Yes. But you didn't have to whistle, Carl. I was right here."

"Say, Noelle," Hoodsey asked, "Just what are you doing here anyway?"

"Noelle shrugged. "My family is camping here too."

"Isn't that interesting?" Carl mused. "Right, Hoodsey?"

Hoodsey nodded.

"And so is Blake," Noelle added.

"Even better." There was a gleam in Carl's eye. He was ready to pull a prank or two on Blakey-boy. _All right, now we're getting somewhere._


	2. Blake's Visitor

The Call of the Wild

Chapter 2: Blake's Visitor

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Posted: 21 Apr 2006

Ginger and her friends were each given instructions from their respective mothers. Their instructions were quite simple. Keep their brother, the two that had a brother at any rate, out of trouble and gather firewood for the campfire. Which of course meant taking Carl and Hoodsey on a little nature hike while keeping an eye on them. But that couldn't be too hard, right?

Ginger and the girls made their way toward where they had last seen the boys. Sitting on the fallen oak tree. As they drew close, however, they watched Carl and Hoodsey get up and leave. And Noelle was with them.

"Stop right there, you, uh, three," Ginger yelled.

The younger children stopped in their tracks and tensed up. Carl stiffly, while clearly trying not to show it, turned to face his sister. "Ginger. Funny meeting you here."

Ginger wasn't about to be distracted by brother's "charm." "What do you think you're doing? Breaking away from the group like that. You could get hurt out there!"

"We can take of ourselves."

"But you could lost out there, Carl," Ginger pointed out, "and we might not be able to find you for days."

"Not to mention Crazy Floyd might be hiding in these woods," Macie said.

Dodie huffed. "Macie, you can be assured that he's safely back in the Institution. But Ginger is right, you guys," she said to Hoodsey and his friends. "There are far too many dangers in these woods."

A young boy screamed in the distance.

"My point exactly."

They all exchanged uneasy glances.

Before running off in the direction of the screaming.

-OOO-

Blake knew that this camping expedition would turn out quite differently than his last one. For one thing, he had taken all the proper precautions. He had strung up pots and pans in the area to alert him of the approach of an intruder, or intruders. And more importantly, he had carefully arranged the pebbles around his campsite so that all the most jagged edges of them were pointing up. And he had picked a spot where it was clear so he could spot anything that came close to him.

Surely nothing could get at him.

He laid down his head on his pillow and closed his eyes. And soon was asleep.

It didn't seem long to him before his sleep was interrupted. He suddenly had the feeling that he wasn't alone. He sat up and looked timidly around. "Come on. Show yourself. I know that you're there."

He could feel something breathing down his neck.


	3. The Search

The Call of the Wild

Chapter 3: The Search

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Posted: 19 Jul 2006

Hoodsey was beginning to lose his breath as he struggled to keep up with the others as they raced toward the source of the scream. He had knew that he was out of shape, but he had had no idea that it was this bad. He wasn't exactly built for speed.

"Don't run so fast, Carl Foutley," mom huffed ahead of him. "I don't see what the hurry is."

"Somebody screamed, Jojo. What more do you need to know?"

"What scream, Carl? I didn't hear any screams." Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "And don't call me Jojo."

A few minutes later, they came across another clearing in the woods. Near the center lay an empty sleeping next slowly dieing campfire and a brand-new backpack. The sleeping bag seemed to have been vacated in quite a hurry.

There was no sign of anyone there.

It seemed they had stumbled upon a vacated campsite. And it was surrounded by a sea of stones and sand. But that couldn't be. The fire wasn't that old.

"Okay, everyone," Mrs. Foutley said, "let's all spread out. Someone's in real trouble here. We all heard the scream." Mom rolled her eyes. Hoodsey wondered why she hadn't heard. He certainly had. "Whoever it is had to be nearby." She began burying the fire with sand.

"I've had enough of this nonsense." Mom stood up from the log she had been sitting on. "I'm going back to camp. Anyone who agrees with is welcome to join me."

No one got up.

"Fine then. Dodie, you're in charge of Robert Joseph. Keep him out of trouble."

She left and pairs were formed. Dad was with Noelle. The Macies formed a group. And Hoodsey had thought he would team up with Carl, but he ended up with Dodie instead. Ginger had Carl. "Look, Hoodsey, Mom has charged me with keeping you out of trouble, so no funny business from you."

"Yes, Dodie." Hoodsey was tired of his sister giving him orders. But she probably knew what she was talking about. He supposed.

-OOO-

As the others spread out, Mrs. Gripling took Macie aside. "Macie, I want you to stay. There's something I want your help with." Macie nodded. And waited for Mrs. Foutley to continue. "Somewhere in this mess is a clue to who was in this camp and what happened to them. We have to find it before it's too late."

"But isn't that an invasion of his privacy, Mrs. Foutley?"

"His life is at stake, Macie. I'm sure that he'll understand."

-OOO-

Ginger had to listen to Carl's ever-increasingly bad theories of the horrors that they would find. She was trying to get him to stop, but he didn't seem to be hearing her. He just went on and on.

Finally she had enough.

"Carl Foutley!" That got his attention. Ginger never called him that. Only his mother and Mrs. Gorden did. He was suddenly quiet. That's better! "That's quite enough of that. We're here to look for a missing camper. Not scare each other silly."

"But Sis," he insisted, "I was only trying to prepare you for what we might find."

"I don't need to hear it, Carl," Ginger growled. "So zip it."

He did. Of which Ginger was grateful. Dealing with his brother was always such a chore. Why did he have to be such a pain?

They spent the next twenty minutes searching. Though Ginger wasn't completely sure how hard her brother had actually at it. At any rate, they didn't find anything.

Eventually their fruitless searching crossed their path with the one of Macie's parents. "Did you guys find anything, Mr. Lightfoot?"

He sighed. "Not a blasted thing, Ginger. You two?"

She shook her head.

"I guess that we have to keep looking. Someone _did_ scream after all."

"Yes, but who?"

"The only way to find that out," Mrs. Lightfoot pointed out, "is to him."

Carl "Unless it was a stranger who screamed his last." He just had to go there.

"Carl, why did you have to bring that up?"

"Ginger's right, Carl," Mr. Lightfoot said. "Until we discover otherwise, we must keep up hope."

Mrs. Lightfoot nodded. "So true."

Carl grumbled.

"Let's get a move-on." Mr. Lightfoot didn't wait for an answer. He just went forward, apparently expecting the rest to follow. Ginger hesitated before following.

They didn't travel very far before they found the missing camper.

Beside a fallen tree huddled a small boy. He was laying in a fetal position, pale-faced and mumbling incoherently. It was Mrs. Lightfoot who made the identification. "Dear heavens! It's Blake Gripling!"


	4. Blake's Story

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 4: Blake's Story

Posted: 25 Aug 2006

Carl felt like such an idiot. Why wasn't he the one who had identified Blake? He was Carl's number one foe after all.

To be fair to Carl, however, Blake simply didn't look like his usual self. He was as white and pale as snow and sweating quite profusely. And he was still murmuring incoherently.

So Carl did what came most natural to him. He grabbed Blake by the collar and yelled, "Why aren't you with your family in Aspen?"

"I'm on a wilderness survival test if you must know," Blake bit back.

Carl relaxed. "It would seem that you're back to your old self, Blake. Which was all due to my natural charm of course."

"Yeah right." Ginger didn't seem to make too much of an effort to hide her disdain.

"I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand, Ginger," Mrs. Lightfoot cautioned. "That _was_ an amazing recovery. Isn't that right, honey?"

He nodded. "I've seen a more rapid recovery from shock. And believe me. We've helped plenty of cases of it in our clinic."

Mrs. Lightfoot nodded.

"Nah." Carl waved away all their points. "He was probably just faking. Isn't that right, Blakey-boy?"

"Absolutely not! There is something in these woods. Something terrible. And it came to my camp…. And it almost scared me to death!"

Ginger knelt down beside him. "Was it a coyote that scared you, Blake?"

"Most certainly not! I would never be scared by a coyote. I saw hundreds of them while camping out with Father. I know what to do when encountering them."

"So… Mr. Gripling goes camping?"

Blake growled at him. "You aren't listening! Something went into my camp, chased me here, and it wasn't a coyote!"

Mr. Lightfoot _hmm_ed. "Could it have been a cougar?"

"No. It wasn't cougar. It was walking on two feet."

"Why didn't you just say so?" Mr. Lightfoot rolled his eyes.

Ginger and Carl exchanged a glance. After a beat, "Bigfoot!"

-OOO-

Throughout the night, up to the crack of dawn, the various groups each returned to the camp with news of less-than-perfect success. Only to find that the missing camper had already been found.

"That sure does take the load off my heart," Dodie commented as she sat in her chair by the dying campfire. "I was afraid that somebody was killed."

"Don't you worry, Dodie." Mrs. Foutley got off her log and began pacing. "Though I hate to admit it, we still haven't dealt with the creature. It's still out there."

Mom looked sharply out at her. "Then let's just go back home. I'm not going to expose either of my children to any vicious monsters." She leaned forward. "Would you?"

"No. Of course not." She stopped pacing. "You're right, Joann. Let's do this another time. I'm going to bring the van around. Joann, care to help me?" She didn't really to ask that, Dodie realized. Leaving seemed to be her mom's idea.

"I'd would only too happy, too." Mom got up and followed Mrs. Foutley away.

When they were gone, Ginger looked up from her hands. "Just what are you doing here, Blake?"

Blake blushed. "I'm here to become a man."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it a bit early to do that?"

"It's a process that happens over time, Carl," he reminded him.

"Oh yes. Of course."

"I think the real question on every mind, Blake," Dodie said, "is why you aren't your sister at Aspen?"

"I had already planned this camping trip long before the Aspen trip was even thought up. I _do_ have schedule to keep you know." He turned his head in a huff.

"You went camping when there's monster out in these woods?" Macie asked while hugging a teddy bear to her chest.

"I didn't know there was a monster in these woods!" He composed himself. "I mean, I didn't see anything about in the papers."

"Of course not, Blake," Ginger said. "That sort thing is reported in tabloids, not the sort of paper that you read I don't think."

"No. Of course not," Blake said, nervously laughing.

Mr. Lightfoot clapped his knees. "But don't you have parental oversight during these little outings of yours?"

"No. The whole point was to last all night in the wilderness without any help. Thanks to certain somebodys that I could name, it remains an accomplishment I have yet to complete."

Neither Carl or Hoodsey batted an eye.

"Is that safe?" Mr. Lightfoot wondered.

But before Blake could answer, Mom and Mrs. Foutley returned. They didn't look like they had any good news to give. Mrs. Foutley, for her part, looked almost sick. "Both vans are broke. There's no getting out of here until they're fixed."


	5. Too Much Talk

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 5: Too Much Talk

Posted: 30 Oct 2006

"Do you mind if I gave both vehicles a checkup?" Noelle asked them. "I help my dad with _his_ van all the time."

Mrs. Foutley exchanged an uneasy glance with Mrs. Bishop.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Mrs. Foutley said a little too hastily.

"Okay." Noelle began to eye them a bit closer now. They were hiding something. But whatever it was, if it had to with the vans that was, she was sure that she could handle it.

"But, mom," Dodie asked, "what happens if the monster comes back?"

"Now, Dodie," Ginger reminded her, "Noelle walk through these woods to get here. And she's perfectly fine…." First her, and then everyone began to stare at Noelle. "Just what brought you here anyway?"

"She can tell us when we get back, Ginger," Mrs. Foutley told her as they left.

When they were out of sight of the others, they stopped and Mrs. Foutley took Noelle aside. "I didn't want to alarm the others, but…. Are you sure that you want that you want to take a look?"

Noelle nodded.

"All right," Mrs. Foutley. "But you might find it a little… disturbing." She continued to lead Noelle the rest of the way. Noelle swallowed. Whatever was happening, she wondered if she dared to get near the vans. Let alone actually touch them.

The vans came into sight.

When Noelle saw them, her heart nearly leapt out of her mouth. The hoods were ripped openly. Apparently by some kind of wild creature. And the only wild creature that Noelle knew of was a bear. She drew closer to Mrs. Foutley. And hoped that it wasn't a bear. Bears liked to attack lone campers in the woods at night.

She wasn't alone _or_ in the woods at night. But one still couldn't be too careful.

Mrs. Bishop gingerly opened the trunk of the Lightfoots' van. "I don't know if there's anything you can do for it, but you are welcome to give it a try." Noelle did not like what she saw. The whole thing was a mess.

She looked up. "I might be able to do something. But it might take awhile."

Mrs. Foutley said, "Work on it, Noelle. Those vans may be our way out of here."

"I understand."

She worked quickly. She had the feeling that something terrible was stalking them. The spooky setting and all the odd happenings didn't exactly help with her moods. You never knew what was out there in the woods.

-OOO-

They were huddled around the now-extinct campfire. Which Carl was poking around in the embers with a stick he had found somewhere. "Please don't do that, dear," Mrs. Lightfoot said. "We want to fire to die. Not be restarted."

He put the stick. "Yes, ma'am."

Ginger sighed. Why couldn't she have that kind of influence over her little brother? But where did Mrs. Lightfoot get it? "When do you suppose they will get back with the good news?"

"The good news?" Macie wondered.

"That the vans are working again," Dodie explained, "and we can get out of here. Alive," she tacked on the end.

"Of course," Macie said, abashed.

A moment of quiet passed before Mr. Bishop said, "I don't understand how both vans could quit at the same time. We had them both checked before we came."

"Don't be too surprised, Henry," Mrs. Lightfoot noted. "None of us are exactly mechanics and our van isn't that new. Well, I suppose Noelle is. But she wasn't with us when we prepared for this little outing."

"That's true enough, I suppose."

Another moment passed.

"Wouldn't it be cool," Carl said suddenly, "if there was some kind of monster out there. Planning on having us for his next meal."

"No, it wouldn't," snapped Ginger. "That's horrible thing to hope for. What if your wish did come true and a horrible monster came after you? Then what?"

"Then I simply catch on film and make big bucks selling the footage to _Amazing Phenomena_."

"With what?" Dodie asked, exasperated.

"With my camera, duh." Carl said that slowly.

"What camera?" Ginger said wearily. "I didn't see you pack any camera."

Carl looked hurt. "So you _have_ been spying on me."

"Of course not, Carl. I was just keeping my eye on you. Like a big sister should."

"Which is just another way of saying, 'spying on him,' just not in so many words."

Macie stared nervously off into the woods. "The money isn't going to do you any good if the monster gets you."

"The monster isn't going to get me," Carl explained patiently.

"Augh!!!" Carl was just impossible. When was he going to learn that monsters weren't something you went around messing with. Especially the kind that she suspected was out there.

The kind that ripped people's limbs off. She prayed that her mother and the others would be okay.


	6. The Missing Girl

The Call of the Wild

Chapter 6: The Missing Girl

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Posted: 14 Dec 2006

Ginger Foutley had never been more scared in her life. Not even the time she had been arrested for attempted burglary has she been this scared. She just wasn't used to being tracked and hunted by a wild beast. She lived in the city, where that sort of thing just didn't happen. She couldn't see or hear it, but she knew that it was there, nevertheless.

"Wouldn't it be cool," Carl said, poking the dying embers of the campfire, "if there were some monster hunting us?"

"No. It wouldn't," Ginger snapped back at him. "It wouldn't be cool _at all_."

"Yeah, Carl Foutley," Dodie scolded him. "Your sister is right. Being hunted by a monster is hardly something that you would want to happen."

"Now, children," Mrs. Lightfoot admonished, "we mustn't fight. We might have a wild creature stalking us. I don't know about you, but I would rather be someplace else about now. And how can we get out of here if we don't work together."

"But Mrs. Lightfoot," Dodie said, snapping a stick in half by pressing it against the ground, "where would we go? Both vans are out of commission, and we can hardly walk our way out of here. We're in the middle of nowhere! Now how do you suppose we go about doing that?"

"Well... fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help us, now is it?"

"No, Mrs. Lightfoot."

Blake sat up. "She's right. Fighting isn't going to help us." Then he added, "It was all Carl's fault anyway."

"What! How is _my_ fault?" Carl wondered.

"You're," Blake shot an accusatory finger at Carl, "the one who had wished that a monster would come here."

"Pfft! How would you know that? You weren't even here at the time."

"I didn't specify a time, Carl Foutley."

"Before the monster appeared, duh!"

Ginger stood up. "There's a monster out waiting to get us whenever he chooses. He can-"

"Or she," Dodie pointed out.

"Oh, right. Thanks, Dodie. Or whenever _she_ chooses. This is no time for fighting amongst ourselves."

"Now, Ginger," Mr. Lightfoot said, "There's no evidence that there's monster around here."

"No evidence? No evidence!" Blake shouted. "But what about the one who had attacked me?!"

"Now, now," Mrs. Lightfoot said. "That could have been anything. And from we heard it had simply scared you away."

"That's because it had attacked me!"

Ginger sighed. Things didn't seem to be looking up in terms of cooperation with each other. Everybody was just bickering and fighting with each other, not trying to find a solution at all. If things continued at this rate, the monster wouldn't have to kill them. They would have done the job themselves.

But then she noticed something was missing. "Guys, when was the last time that anyone of you has seen Macie around?"

Mrs. Lightfoot looked around panic-strickened, with her fingers of one hand in her mouth. "Where's my baby? Where is she?" When she didn't see her anywhere, she stood up. "She's not here! Where is she!"

Her husband put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "Don't fret, dear. I'm quite sure that she hasn't gone too far. She couldn't have. Too little time has passed since we have seen her last."

But Mrs. Lightfoot continued to cry. "I must be the world's worst mother if I didn't even notice that my baby girl is missing!" She cried into her husband's muscular chest.

"Just relax, Mrs. Lightfoot," Dodie promised. "We'll find Macie for you. Right, guys?"

Everyone voiced their agreement to that. Everyone but Blake, that was. He evidently didn't agree.

"Let's just face it," Blake said while fiddling with his shoe, apparently preparing to take it off, "we're all doomed."

"Uh, Blake? Why are taking off your shoe?"

"I just realized that a pebble was in my shoe. Is that a crime?"

"No," Ginger said, "but your negative attitude about now should be. With the right attitude, we can get out of this mess with no problems at all. Apple Afghan tomatoes." Ginger wondered where that had come from. And she didn't like the way that everyone was staring at her. "Did I just say three random words in a sentence?"

"Yes, you did, Ginger," Mrs. Lightfoot said. "Though I'm not quite sure why you did. Was it to get everybody's attention? Because if it had been, I would say you needn't bother. You have got all our attention." She gasped. "Or maybe you're just cracking up like the rest of us."

Ginger sighed. "Great," she softly to herself. "If a psychologist says you might be cracking up, then you must be _really_ in trouble."

"Oh," Blake cried out. "We're doomed!"

Mr. Bishop clapped his hands, grabbing everyone else's attention. "There's no need to fret, people. We'll just find her. Robert is right. She couldn't have gone too far."

Ginger nodded. Dodie's dad was right. Macie couldn't have been far.

And so they separated to begin the search anew. This time for a definite person in mind. Macie Lightfoot. Ginger, for one, had no doubt that they would find her in no time.

-OOO-

Lois had kind of expected that it would be the diagnosis. The vans had looked a bit beat up. Like some kind of wild animal had ripped the engines apart. She wasn't a wildlife expert, or an auto mechanic for that matter, but she did know, from that precise way that the engine had disabled, that was very unlikely for an animal to have done it. Somebody had obviously made it to look as if an animal had done it. But who? And why? "I'm sorry, Mrs. Foutley," Noelle was saying after wiping her hands clean with a spare cloth that she had found. "I did everything that I could."

"I know you did, Noelle. I know you did."

"Now what do we do?" Joann asked. "This is hardly something that we had came prepared for."

"Yes." Lois sighed. "But luckily I had made arrangements to be picked up if we stayed out here too long."

"How long do we have?"

"About two days."

"Oh."

"At least nothing else can go wrong, eh?"

"Macie's missing! Macie's missing!" Dodie came running toward them, yelling. "Macie's missing, mom!"

Joann gave Lois a look that said _And you were saying?_


	7. The Cave

The Call of the Wild

Chapter 7: The Cave

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Posted: 3 Jan 2007

She had been lonely for such a long time when she had found the jumpy, blond boy. He looked like a fun kid to play with, despite being a boy. But he ran away before they had chance to play.

She was heart-broken. Now she had no one to play with. And he had seemed like such a nice boy too.

But when she found the girl with the gray hair, she knew she had found her new friend.

-OOO-

When Macie had awakened, she had found herself in a cave. And she had no idea how she had got there. _This could be bad_, she thought to herself. She would have said aloud it aloud, had she not been too scared to.

She nervously sat up and looked at the room she had found herself in. It was about the size of her bedroom back home, and there was only way in and out, as the other end was a spring far too narrow for her to pass through. And the only source of the light was a hooded lantern nearly in the exact center of the room. The same person who had put the lamp there surely had put her in here as well.

But where had he gone? There seemed there to be no sign of her mysterious captive. It looked as if she could just walk right on out of there.

Except that her pants and shoes seemed to be missing. Though finding fabric when she felt around her hips did relieve her a bit. Who knew what some of those perverts out there were capable of.

She started thinking. Even though her friends were probably looking for her, she still had to get out of the cave. Pants or no pants. But she supposed that her mysterious captor was in a position to watch for when he left. So how to get past him? She didn't know the layout of the cave beyond, so how was she supposed to know where he was hiding? So where was he hiding? It sure was a perplexing question. Too bad she had no idea how to answer it.

So she had to sneak out and hope that she wouldn't get caught.

Besides she had no proof that any one was out there to catch her if she tried to escape. So she made the attempt.

She noticed the shadow that was creeping up from behind her.


	8. Losing Their Grip

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 9: The Creature in the Woods

Posted: 23 Jun 2007

[17 Jul 2007 Fixed a small mistake.

Macie looked behind her.

Standing there was a little girl in a yellow sundress and bare feet. She was frowning at her. Despite her tattered rags and seemingly poor hygiene, she seemed pretty cute. "Where are you going?" she asked Macie with pleading eyes.

"Out to look for my friends."

"But why, Miss Lady? If you leave, I would be… alone. I don't want to be alone any… more."

Macie hesitated. While she didn't want to leave this little girl alone, but she had to find her friends. After all, they would do the same for her. "How about you come with me and we can look for them together."

"No!" Macie jumped when the girl stomped the cave floor with her foot. She hadn't thought such vehemence from such a small girl was even possible. She folding her arms under chest and raised her chin. "I'm not going!" She stomped her foot again. "I'm not leaving this cave!"

"Why not? You left the cave when you got me, didn't you?"

"No!" She clenched her fists and proceeded to run into the back of the cave.

Macie sighed. She wasn't used to dealing with naughty kids. _She_ wasn't the one with the little brother. It was obvious that she was going to need some help with this one.

She started for the mouth of the cave. What a strange little girl, but Macie really didn't want to leave her behind. But it seemed that she didn't have much choice in the matter. Tara didn't want to leave the cave, and Macie had to get help. So that was that.

The caved proved deeper than she had initially hoped. So she wondered where all the light was coming from. Not that she was ungrateful. She wasn't one to look a gift pony in the mouth… but it was a bit unusual. She didn't even see any sign of phospertic lichen on the walls. So what was causing the light to appear?

Could the cave entrance not be too far off?

She continued down the cave, following stream that surely came to the surface at some point. And she noticed that the lichen had started to fade away, which, unfortunately, meant that the light was beginning to dim.

-OOO-

Hours of searching through the woods had failed to turn any sign of Macie. Now Ginger was really starting to get worry. Macie had never been missing this long before. And as Macie's best friend, Ginger would know.

They were trudging back to camp. Mrs. Lightfoot had decided to call a park ranger for some help. "About bloody well time," was Blake's opinion on the matter. Ginger ignored him.

There was something else that was bothering her. Something that should be bothering them too, but somehow wasn't. It was bad that Macie was still missing, but that wasn't quite it, either. And it wasn't whatever that had happened to the vans. Everybody else was spooked by it, too. So what was it that was bothering her?

"Now, Blake," Mrs. Bishop said, "this isn't the time to lose our heads."

"It's never time to lose our heads," Mr. Lightfoot agreed.

Mrs. Bishop nodded. "Right. The park ranger will be here shortly and Macie will be found and everything will be back to normal so we will be able to get back to our lives."

Suddenly Ginger's blood froze.

The most blood-curdling howl that she had ever heard in her life had just pierced through the night. Ginger could only of a werewolf. But there were no such thing as werewolves. Right?

But as the otherworldly howling continued, Ginger wasn't too sure about that. It was the kind of sound that made everything seem possible. _Everything._

"What the hell was that?" The change in Mrs. Bishop's voice was frightening. It was almost as if she was another woman. "If someone doesn't tell me what that was, I am so out of here."

"Perhaps it was a wolf."

"There's wolves in Connecticut?"

"Yeah," Dodie said, nodding, "I think so, mom."

Mrs. Bishop stood up. "Deidre Hortense. Robert Joseph. Get into the van. We're leaving."

"You can't leave now, Mrs. Bishop." Ginger stood up as well. "What about Macie?"

"Mark my words, Ginger. That girl will never be found again." She looked off into the distance. "Not by us any way."


	9. The Creature in the Woods

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 9: The Creature in the Woods

Posted: 23 Jun 2007

Macie looked behind her.

Standing there was a little girl in a yellow sundress and bare feet. She was frowning at her. Despite her tattered rags and seemingly poor hygiene, she seemed pretty cute. "Where are you going?" she asked Macie with pleading eyes.

"Out to look for my friends."

"But why, Miss Lady? If you leave, I would be… alone. I don't want to be alone any… more."

Macie hesitated. While she didn't want to leave this little girl alone, but she had to find her friends. After all, they would do the same for her. "How about you come with me and we can look for them together."

"No!" Macie jumped when the girl stomped the cave floor with her foot. She hadn't thought such vehemence from such a small girl was even possible. She folding her arms under chest and raised her chin. "I'm not going!" She stomped her foot again. "I'm leaving this cave!"

"Why not? You left the cave when you got me, didn't you?"

"No!" She clenched her fists and proceeded to run into the back of the cave.

Macie sighed. She wasn't used to dealing with naughty kids. _She_ wasn't the one with the little brother. It was obvious that she was going to need some help with this one.

She started for the mouth of the cave. What a strange little girl, but Macie really didn't want to leave her behind. But it seemed that she didn't have much choice in the matter. Tara didn't want to leave the cave, and Macie had to get help. So that was that.

The caved proved deeper than she had initially hoped. So she wondered where all the light was coming from. Not that she was ungrateful. She wasn't one to look a gift pony in the mouth… but it was a bit unusual. She didn't even see any sign of phospertic lichen on the walls. So what was causing the light to appear?

Could the cave entrance not be too far off?

She continued down the cave, following stream that surely came to the surface at some point. And she noticed that the lichen had started to fade away, which, unfortunately, meant that the light was beginning to dim.

-OOO-

Hours of searching through the woods had failed to turn any sign of Macie. Now Ginger was really starting to get worry. Macie had never been missing this long before. And as Macie's best friend, Ginger would know.

They were trudging back to camp. Mrs. Lightfoot had decided to call a park ranger for some help. "About bloody well time," was Blake's opinion on the matter. Ginger ignored him.

There was something else that was bothering her. Something that should be bothering them too, but somehow wasn't. It was bad that Macie was still missing, but that wasn't quite it, either. And it wasn't whatever that had happened to the vans. Everybody else was spooked by it, too. So what was it that was bothering her?

"Now, Blake," Mrs. Bishop said, "this isn't the time to lose our heads."

"It's never time to lose our heads," Mr. Lightfoot agreed.

Mrs. Bishop nodded. "Right. The park ranger will be here shortly and Macie will be found and everything will be back to normal so we will be able to get back to our lives."

Suddenly Ginger's blood froze.

The most blood-curdling howl that she had ever heard in her life had just pierced through the night. Ginger could only of a werewolf. But there were no such thing as werewolves. Right?

But as the otherworldly howling continued, Ginger wasn't too sure about that. It was the kind of sound that made everything seem possible. _Everything._

"What the hell was that?" The change in Mrs. Bishop's voice was frightening. It was almost as if she was another woman. "If someone doesn't tell me what that was, I am so out of here."

"Perhaps it was a wolf."

"There's wolves in Connecticut?"

"Yeah," Dodie said, nodding, "I think so, mom."

Mrs. Bishop stood up. "Deidre Hortense. Robert Joseph. Get into the van. We're leaving."

"You can't leave now, Mrs. Bishop." Ginger stood up as well. "What about Macie?"

"Mark my words, Ginger. That girl will never be found again." She looked off into the distance. "Not by us any way."


	10. Flight or Fight?

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 10: Flight or Fight?

Posted: 17 Jul 2007

Edited: 19 Dec 2007

Macie was running.

She was running as fast as she could.

After all, she was running for her life here.

Although she had absolutely no idea what was chasing her. All she knew was that she had heard a dreadful howling and her guts turned to jelly. She didn't know what she was running from. She didn't want to know. She just wanted to be way, way away from that thing.

So she ran.

That must have been why she hadn't noticed the hole until she had already fell right into it. She landed on something that was surprisingly soft. It certainly hadn't looked very soft when she had fell onto it. It looked like hard packed dirt. As she raised herself up and spat out some leaves, she realized why. It was a pile of leaves covered by a thin layer of soil. "Figures," she muttered aloud.

Hadn't she been through this before? Who kept digging all these holes in the ground?

"Need some help down there?" a voice asked from above her.

Macie looked up. It was Tara, who was looking down at her from the lip of the pit. And it was pretty far up. "You could say that."

Tara lifted her chin. "Well you shouldn't have run away from me like that then." Her face darkened. "I don't like it when people run away from me."

"But Tara-"

"Tara?" She looked around. "Who's Tara?"

Macie blinked in confusion. "Aren't you Tara?"

"No. What ever gave you that silly idea?"

Macie didn't know she knew. But she did know that it was true.

But she didn't contradict the girl. Macie thought it best that she didn't. "Okay. Then what do I call you?"

The little smirked. "Macie."

"But that's _my_ name."

"Huh. I didn't know that." But she made no effort to rectify matters with the 'real' Macie. But on the other hand….

…an opening had seemed to open up here.

"Say now that you're already out here in the woods, maybe you could me look for my friends?"

Tara took a step back. "I don't know," she said uncertainly.

"It's what friends do for each other."

"They don't run away from friends, either."

Macie winced. Tara had a point there. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so hasty to get away from Tara before…. Especially now that there was a vicious monster after her! "I'm sorry, Macie! I shouldn't have left you so abruptly. If you will help me look for my friends, I'll spend some time with you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Good." Tara disappeared.

"Wait! What about the monster that was chasing me?"

Tara reappeared. "It won't bother you."

"What do you-"

Tara was gone before Macie could finish her question. This time without showing up again.

Sighing, Macie began to look for a root thick enough for her to climb up. It didn't take long. The one root she did find pulled all the way out of the wall when she tested it. She groaned. It looked she was going to do it the hard way. She was going to dig her way out.

She began pawing at the soil.

-OOO-

Mom had come up with the plan. Ginger could only hope that it would work. And she really hoped that her trust wasn't entirely misplaced. For she just couldn't see how her mother's plan could possibly work.

But for the moment, she couldn't think of a better plan for fighting off the creature.

And she did trust her mother after all.

"You know what to do, Ging?" Mom asked.

Ginger nodded.

"Okay then." Mom clapped her hands. "Let's get started."

Ginger took hold of her brother's hand and led him back to his tent, where they poked their heads in. Surprisingly, especially for Carl, the tent was quite neat and organized. Now she wasn't so surprised that her and Carl were related anymore. Surely that box, whatever it was, that mom wanted was in a place where they could just grab it and go. So when Ginger, from the tent flap, watched Carl go into the tent and leaf through his stuff, she was certain that it wouldn't take long at all.

It didn't work out so well. After long minutes after tossing things about in his not-all-that-large tent, Ginger started to get worried. There couldn't be that many places to hide something in there!

The kicker when Carl abruptly spoke. "Ginger, I don't think that it's in here."

"What!" She pushed her way in, shoving Carl over. "It just has to be in here. You said it was."

"I know, Ginger. I know."

Ginger looked underneath a couple of castaway sweaters. "If it's not her, could Hoodsey have it?"

"Maybe…."

Ginger used every swear word that she knew. Which turned out to be a lot more than she had thought she had known. "Carl, we have to find that box."

"I know that, Ginger. What do I look like? Blake?"

"Just start digging, Carl. We have very little time left.

"It has to be here."

Carl's personal belongings started flying everywhere. With Ginger doing most of the flinging.

-OOO-

Dodie wasn't at all happy about the situation. Her mother had pulled her and her brother away from the others just she got a little spooked. Now all three of them were all alone. And Dodie genuinely didn't know if she was ever going to either of her two best friends ever again. She had tried to convince her mother to stay with the others and help them, but she had put her foot down. And that was the end of that.

Then Dodie noticed that Hoodsey had something in his hands. "Where did you get _that_ thing from, Hoodsey?"

"Oh this?" He looked down at the small green package. "Just something that Carl had gave me."

"Yes. But _is_ it?"

Hoodsey shrugged. "Idonno."

"Why did he give it to you?"

"That's what _I_ would very much like to know, Robert Joseph," their mother said from the front seat. "I had thought I had told you not to accept strange gifts from strange boys." Dodie smiled. Her mother often gave her that very same advice.

"But, Mom, I didn't get it from a strange boy. I got it from Carl."

"He's the strangest boy of all."

"But, Mom-"

She reached back with her hand. "Give it here, Robert Joseph. And we'll give it back to the Foutleys when they get back to civilization."

"Aww…. All right." He handed her the box.

Dodie wondered what might have been in that box.

She soon got an answer to that question. But not in any way that she would have preferred.

-OOO-

"Where is it!"

Ginger was getting frantic.

By now the entire contents of Carl's tent had been strewn in every direction around the tent. And they still couldn't find the package. And Ginger still had no idea what it contained. Or how it would help them fight off the monster in the woods. But Mom had said that it was important, so here they were looking for it.

Though it was becoming clearer that maybe Hoodsey did have it. "But we have to look around the campsite before we come to _that_ conclusion."

"What conclusion would that be, Ginger?"

She froze. That wasn't Carl!

She looked up and found Mrs. Lightfoot standing over them, looking expectant for an answer. Ginger's voice went away. She didn't want to ruin the poor woman's hope that she would ever see her daughter again, but she didn't feel like lying just then.

So Carl answered for her. "We think maybe it's gone."

Much to Ginger's surprise, Mrs. Lightfoot looked relieved. "Oh, thank goodness."

"How do you mean, Mrs. Lightfoot?" Ginger asked.

"With that in our camp, the beast would be sure to attack us."

A cold chill went through Ginger. "What if it was in a car?"

"Oh, a car won't stop _that_ thing," Mrs. Lightfoot said, indicating the woods around them.

"Oh, god." Ginger felt like throwing up.

"Why, what's wrong, Ginger?"

She looked up. "That box is with Dodie now!"


	11. The Three Friends

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 11: The Three Friends

Posted: 8 Mar 2008

Macie was running again.

She had somehow managed to dig herself out of that pit, and gotten herself a pretty good head start while was at it.

But she still didn't feel very safe. Danger could still get to her from any direction. From above and below, as well as forward and back and to the sides. Macie knew that she wouldn't be able to relax until she got back to camp, but with looking over her shoulder every five seconds, she soon realized that was well-nigh impossible. How matter how vigilant she tried to be, she was terrified that she was going to blink, or something was going to get her from behind, and "Tara," or whatever her name was, was going capture her again.

Macie ignored the stitch that was starting to form in her side. She wasn't going to let herself get caught again. Who knew what would happen if that crazy girl caught her again?

Macie had no intention of finding out any time soon. It couldn't have possibly have been any good. Not from someone who would lay out a trap for her victims. That little girl was the sort of girl you quickly learned not to trust.

Actually Macie was so concreted on what the girl might do to her that she didn't pay any attention to the shadow that was trailing shortly behind her.

-OOO-

**THUMP!**

Dodie looked up suddenly from her game of Tic-Tac-Toe with her brother as the car suddenly jerked to a stop after something had seemed to have hit the car. She had been so surprised by it that she nearly wet her pants. "What was that?"

Her mother looked just as shook up as Dodie felt. "I don't know, honey. But your father is going to find out for us. Aren't you, dear?"

Mr. Bishop didn't seem too eager to get out of the car. Dodie didn't blame him. She didn't want to go out there either. But, despite whatever misgivings he might have had, he opened the door and stepped out of the car anyway. It was what being married to Mrs. Bishop could do to you. Dodie was half afraid that something would happen to him.

But it was still very much daytime. What could happen to him?

Nothing did happen for a long while.

And Dodie began to breathe a little easier. Nothing was going to happen to them. Which was a relief, as for a moment there she thought that….

**THUMP!**

"What the heck was _that_?" Dodie really got worried when she never could no longer see her father. "Mom, where did Dad go?"

Mrs. Bishop stared out the window. "I'm sure that he simply tripped, Deirdre. I'll go out and check on him." She opened the door and stepped out, leaving Dodie and Hoodsey all alone in the car. Mrs. Bishop stuck her head inside the car one last time. "This shouldn't take long. Just wait here."

And then she was gone.

"They will be back, won't they?" Dodie asked uncertainly.

"Of course they will, Dodie. Why wouldn't they?"

Looking out through the car window at the vast wilderness that surrounded them, Dodie wasn't so sure. She had the awful, terrible feeling that they weren't alone anymore. "That monster out there could have gotten, Hoodsey."

"That's crazy talk, Dodie. Everybody knows that there's no monster in these woods." It didn't help that it sounded as if he were talking more to himself than to her.

Dodie nodded. "You're probably right."

She didn't notice the shadow that was creeping toward them.

-OOO-

"Just what are you looking for, Ginger?" Ginger was lying in her tent, breathing heavily after her fruitless search for the stupid box. She still hadn't given up hope that the box was still in camp, despite what she had said earlier.

She looked up with a scowl on her face. Carl had stuck his head into her bed while she wasn't looking. She didn't need this now. "What is in the box that you're looking for, sis?"

"I don't know, Carl. You're going to have to ask Mom."

"Okay. I think I will." He then looked at her askew. "You don't know what's in the box?"

"It's not my box, Carl. It's Mom's."

"Why do _you_ have it then?"

"It's a long story, Carl, and I'm sure that you don't want to hear it."

Carl leaned in closer. "Sure I do, sis." He motioned to the Great Outdoors just outside of her tent. "We seem to have all the time in the world."

Ginger sighed. She might as well. It's not like they had anything else to do but to wait. So she propped herself up with her elbows and began. "Mom had always wanted a third child." Carl nodded. "But she never got that chance before she and Dad got divorced."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with the box?"

"Relax, Carl. I was just getting to that. She…."

"Hey, guys," a familiar voice called from just outside the tent. "You have got to see this."

"Coming, Noelle," Ginger called back before sitting up. "Stay here, Carl. I'll finish the story when I get back."

"Oh boy," he said, rolling his eyes. "I can hardly wait."

Ginger squeezed his shoulder in a comforting manner before heading to meet Noelle. "Just relax, Carl. It's a good one."

"It had better be."

Ginger left the tent and at once spotted Noelle pacing back and forth, apparently impatient for them to meet. Now what did she have that was so important that Ginger needed to see? "Okay, Noelle, what did you want to show me?"

Noelle pointed. "That."

At first Ginger didn't know what Noelle was talking about. But it soon became very clear to her. All too clear. A column of smoke rose in the distance. "Carl," she called. "I think you had better see this."

-OOO-

When Macie had wakened up, she was surprised to find herself in the cave again. But only for a moment. She had been expecting her capture for some time actually. But it still was very disappointing. Who knew what her stalker was capable of doing to little girls like her. Macie didn't, but she could very well imagine what horrors lay in the future for her. She had seen one too many late-night horror movies with Carl and Hoodsey not to.

She tried to stand up, but she immediately realized that she was trussed up like a Christmas turkey, with her wrists tied to her ankles. She cursed herself for not noticing before. The bonds were pretty tight so she wasn't sure she would be able to free herself from them. But she had to try anyway. It wasn't like Prince Charming was going to swoop in and rescue her, now was he? So Macie had to make her own escape.

If only she could….

She began to struggle against the ropes, hoping to get free despite the long odds. What other choice did she have?

She didn't have much time though.

The crazy little girl could come back at any moment now. And Macie really didn't want to be there when she did.

She began to hurry.

It turned out that she didn't have much time after all.

Just as soon as she somehow managed to slip off the ropes and hide in the shadows of the cave, Tara returned. But she wasn't alone. She had Dodie and Hoodsey with her. They didn't look themselves though. They looked like they had been zombizied or something. But no, that wasn't right. There weren't such thing as zombies. And even if there were, Dodie and Hoodsey wouldn't be turned into one, would they?

Right?

Her worries only increased when she saw her two friends simple drop onto the floor for no apparent reason. Macie whimpered as she watched them fall to the ground. They looked so pitiful laying there on the floor like cast away rag dolls. What could have happened to them? What power could have turned them into these string puppets?

Macie felt sick. She didn't want that to happen to her. If it did… then how was she was ever going to get help for Dodie and her brother?

With that decided, she started to wait until the coast was clear. And she would wait as long as it would take. No matter how long it would ultimately turn out to be.

Unfortunately that was when Tara noticed that Macie was missing.

"Yipe!" Tara had suddenly looked in her direction.


	12. I Can Help You Find Your Friends

-OOO-

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 12: "I Can Help You Find Your Friends"

Posted: 13 May 2008

When Dodie woke up, she didn't have a clue of where she was. For one thing everything was totally dark. She couldn't see a thing.

She tried to feel her pockets for a match, for she knew she had one.

But then she realized that her arms and legs were tied up. So that could only mean that she had been blindfolded. But who would do such a thing? It seemed so… so unfair. She and her family had only been trying to get back home.

She had the feeling that she was no longer alone.

"Who's there?" she asked. "What am I doing here? What's going on?"

"I'm sorry that I had to treat you so," a voice that she had never heard before told her. "But if I hadn't I don't think that you would have come."

"You don't know that!" Though come to think of it, Dodie probably wouldn't have had went. She tried looking around the room through her blindfold, but of course she couldn't see a thing. "And where are you? I can't see anything through this blindfold."

"I'm sorry, lady, but the blindfold will have to stay on a little while longer."

"But why?"

"I'm afraid that I'm not looking my best."

Dodie sighed. Just perfect! Here I am all tied up and she's worried about how she looks!

She had to get out of there.

Before she no longer was able.

But she couldn't do anything with her hands bound up and her eyes covered with the blindfold. And she certainly couldn't do anything with Tara watching over her the whole time. Especially not struggle out of her bonds. She would have to wait until Tara was gone.

No matter how long it would take.

She would find a way out of there.

-OOO-

Ginger sighed.

She had been left behind with Carl and Blake while her mother and the Lightfoots were on the road, after setting things up in the camp, looking for the Bishops before it was too late. She didn't know why. What could possibly happen? But she wished them luck anyway. Ginger hated to think what the world would be like if anything were to happen to Dodie, her very best friend.

Carl must have sensed her distress, as she had done nothing to show it. She thought! He went over and sat down on the log next to her. "I'm sure that nothing has happened to them, Ginger."

She poked at the fire with the stick. "I'm sure that you're right about that, Carl," she replied, even though she was sure of no such thing. She looked at him. "Has Noelle come back yet?"

Carl shook his head. "No, I haven't seen her yet."

"Dang! I was hoping that she might know where the box was."

"Why didn't you ask her while she was still here then?"

Ginger looked away sheepishly. "I guess I just didn't think of it then."

Carl touched her knee. "Don't worry, sis. I'm sure that she will turn up soon."

"I hope that you're right, Carl."

"Of course I am, sis. I'm usually am."

Ginger had to laugh at that. "Sometimes you are, Carl. Sometimes you are."

They continued their vigilance in silence.

-OOO-

Macie wished that she could nurse the black eye she had got in the struggle to get away from Tara's clutches for the third time that evening. Though she supposed she should be more thankful that she hadn't gotten any more injured than that. Unfortunately Macie didn't remember much of anything from that time, so maybe it wasn't luck after all.

Though the leather straps tied around her wrists and ankles weren't exactly an improvement. Why did Tara have to be so insistent about these things? It wasn't as if they were the only three families who came to these woods after all. They must have been tons of candidates to choose from.

So why choose her?

And wasn't taking Macie sufficient enough? Wasn't her companionship enough for one person? Did Tara have to take more friends? Wasn't one enough? Apparently not, as the little brat had also taken Dodie and Hoodsey as well.

Macie hated to think of what who might be next. She had to escape so that she could warn the others.

She hadn't heard any commotion for awhile, so she figured that it was time to make her move.

She began working on her bonds.

-OOO-

Noelle had gone off on yet another search for Macie. Carl went off with her. Although at this point, there didn't seem to be much hope of finding her any time soon. These woods were huge. And Macie was so small. She could have been anywhere in the forest.

Ginger just didn't let herself consider the possibility that something may have happened to Macie. It was just too unthinkable to consider.

So did she find herself considering it? Worrying won't bring them back any faster, so why do it?

She just couldn't help herself. She loved her friends too much not to worry.

Then she was no longer alone.

Ginger sat up.

And found herself staring into the eyes of a little girl. "W-who are you?"

"My name is Tara and I was wondering…."

"Yes, Tara?"

"Whatcha doing here?"

Ginger took in a deep breath. "Waiting for my friends to get back."

"When will that be?"

"I wish that I knew."

The little girl grinned. "Then what kind of friends are they?"

"They're real friends. They… just have something important they have to do. That's all."

"Like what?" she plodded.

"Like look for my other friend for one thing. Our _missing_ friend." For reason this girl was starting to get on her nerves.

"And where did she go, hmm?"

"I don't know. She just disappeared."

"Some friend she turned out to be, huh?"

"What do you mean? I'm sure that something happened to her."

"That's terrible thing to wish on somebody!"

"I didn't wish it. I just…. Who are you anyway?"

Tara smiled. Her smile was the kind that sweet little girls with blonde curls and dimpled cheeks make. While the girl was certainly little and had blonde curls and dimpled cheeks, Ginger somehow knew that she wasn't so sweet. "I'm Tara. What's your name?"

"Oh right." She had forgotten to give _her_ name. "I'm Ginger."

Tara leaned in closer. "I can help you find your friends, you know."


	13. Asleep at the Wheel

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 13: Asleep at the Wheel

Posted: 29 Dec 2008

Ginger didn't remember the woods being so thick. She could barely tell that the sun was still in the sky. Sunset had still yet to arrive. "Do you mind if I asked where we are going?" she asked as they made their way forward. She could have used Carl's help, but she had left him behind to take care of the campsite.

"No, not at all."

"Okay. Where are we going?"

Tara didn't answer.

"Tara?"

She still didn't answer.

Ginger had to stop. "Tara? Are you all right?"

"Of course I am, Ginger." Tara didn't even slow down to answer. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, Tara. You seem a little… distracted."

Ginger wasn't exactly thrilled by the little girl's smile. It did look sort of _creepy_ somehow. But it had to be her imagination. It just had to be. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Oh?"

Tara didn't answer. She just kept walking forward. Ginger hoped that Tara knew where they were going. Because she sure as heck didn't. It looked like she would have to trust the little girl.

Even though something told her that she really shouldn't.

They went deeper into the woods. Deeper than Ginger would have thought would be possible. So deep that she could never find her way out on her own.

She was starting to get worried.

What should she do if it's a trap?

What could she do?

She took in a deep breath to calm herself down. There was no sense getting herself worked up over nothing. There's no way that this little girl could have been behind all the disappearances. But there was every chance that she might have known something about them. She had to find out what she knew.

Before… it happened.

"I wonder."

That's odd. "You wonder what, Tara?"

"Are you all in the same group?"

"Of course we are. What are you talking about?"

Tara shook her head. "No. It's nothing."

"Okay." Ginger was sure that it was something, but didn't press the issue. She was sure that she would find the answer soon enough.

She didn't have long to wait. "Do you suppose that we can fast friends, Ginger?"

"Oh I don't see why not, Tara," Ginger cheerfully replied.

Tara smiled back. "Good."

Ginger swallowed. This wasn't looking very promising. Best find some way of defusing the situation. "I'm sure that there are people looking for you, Tara."

Tara sighed. "Perhaps you're right, Ginger." She stared off into the distance. "Oh why aren't the nice people at Miskatonic sending anyone to look for me?"

"Miskatonic? What does that have to do with this?" And where was this _Miksatonic_? Ginger wondered. She had never heard of the place.

"That was where my Mommy works."

"Oh. I see." So she missed her mommy. Fair enough. Ginger could certainly understand that. She was beginning to miss her own. What was taking her so long?

Tara was starting to get a little creepy.

-OOO-

Lois gasped very much aloud when the wreck of the Bishops' minivan came into sight. She had never seen such wreckage in her life. The only clue that it had been the Bishops' car was the license plate that lay by the side of the road. BISHOP. Lois immediately recognized it. She prayed and hoped that they were all still okay. She had already enough loss in her life already. No need to go adding to it now.

She rushed out of the car even before it had completely stopped. Robert said something, but Lois was in too much of a hurry to pay any heed. If any of the Bishops was injured there was no time to waste to tend to them. It was her duty as a nurse!

She relayed that fact to the Lightfoots and they went right to work at finding survivors. It didn't take long.

When they were finished, they still had no trace of the missing Bishops. "Where could they be?" Lois wondered.

"I don't know," Robert said. "Perhaps they went looking for help."

"No." Lois shook her head. "They wouldn't do that. They would know better. They would stay put until help came to them."

"Are you sure, Lois? Joann doesn't seem to me to be the type that listens to others very well."

Lois sighed. There was too much truth in what Robert had said. She checked her watch. "All right then. We'll split up and meet back here in an hour. Any questions?"

When none came, they split up and began their search.

-OOO-

Noelle had to stop for a rest. She wanted to press on, but the cramp in her leg had convinced her to hold that off for a moment. She had known that she should have stretched more, but there had been so much to do. She had had homework to finish up, packing for the trip, and RV park didn't exactly run itself.

Perhaps resting her eyes for a bit wouldn't be too bad an idea….

-OOO-

They finally found the missing Bishops at the bottom of a ravine.

Well three of them anyway.

One of them was missing.

But the rest of them didn't appear to be too bad off. The only sign of injury seemed to the sling on Hoodsey's arm. "What happened here?" Lois wondered. "What happened to Dodie?"

"About time you showed up." Joann didn't sound the slightest bit happy with them. Tending to her son's broken arm didn't seem to help with her mood any.

Not at all.

"I'm sorry, Joann," Lois said, "but we didn't know where you were."

Joann paused. "Well there is that."

"I knew that you would agree."

"We have to look for Dodie." Joann finished with Hoodsey and stood up.

Lois nodded. "Agreed."

-OOO-

Tara had led Ginger to a small cave in the side a hill. It also looked incredibly dark and scary. "You want me to go until _there_?"

"Of course, Ginger. It's where I live."

"In a cave?"

"That's right."

Ginger shivered. What a weird and creepy place to live. "Why do you live in a cave?"

"Sure beats the outdoors." Tara grinned. "It's also where your friends are. Come on." She motioned for Ginger to follow and went inside.

Ginger wasn't so quick to follow her in. Her friends were in there, or so Tara had said, but Ginger had always been afraid of caves. It was a form of claustrophobia, but it only kicked when Ginger was in a cave.

A scream from inside drove any thought of caves and the spooky things that lay within them from her mind.

She rushed right in.

She soon regretted that decision. She should have moved in more cautiously than that. If she had done that, she would have been able to duck before Tara jumped on top of her and try to gouge her eyes out. "Ack!"

The attack was so vicious that Ginger had to throw the girl off of her.

She looked and gasped when she saw that Tara had obviously been knocked unconscious. "Uh-oh." From the moment that Ginger knocked out the little girl, she knew that she had somehow made the most dreadful mistake of her life.

And she already began regret it.

As everything suddenly went black.


	14. I Just Want Some Friends

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Chapter 14: I Just Want Some Friends

Posted: 1 Dec 2009

When Ginger awoke from what she hoped had been a short nap, she very nearly wished she hadn't. First of all her head was sure. And second she remembered the blow to her head. It had been a doozy. And unfortunately she couldn't move her arm to rub it. Something seemed to be holding it down. But perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing after all. Touching it would probably just make it hurt worse.

And secondly, it was dark and she had no idea where she was!

"Okay, pal," she heard Tara's voice from somewhere in the darkness say, "where are they?"

"Where's who, Tara? I don't know what you're talking about?"

"You don't know, huh?" Ginger felt herself lifted by her collar. "Then why did come here to distract me then?"

"I didn't! You're the one the who had invited me." She lowered her voice just a tad. "And what's with the blindfold and the rope?"

"It's for your own protection." Huh-uh. Why didn't Ginger believe _that_ one?

"Protection? Protection from what exactly! There's no one else here!"

"How would you know? You can't _see_ anything!"

Ginger swallowed. And reluctantly nodded. That was all too true. She couldn't see anything with the stupid blindfold in the way. But that didn't mean that she couldn't use all her other senses instead.

She started to listen for signs of anyone else being in the room with them. She listened for what seemed like hours, but probably was only fifteen minutes or so. But no matter how she tried to find anyone, all could hear was Tara and herself. Surely that meant that they were alone.

But who had dragged her into the cave and tied her up?

She swallowed. It was now or never. "I don't believe you. We're all alone."

"You're right," Tara sighed. "I can't fool you, now can I?"

"I don't think so." Ginger sat up a little straighter. "Now do you mind letting me go? My hands are--"

"Yes. I do mind."

Of course. "Then can I ask you why you kidnapped me?"

"Because I wanted to."

Ginger swallowed. This wasn't going to end very well for her. She could tell that Tara was way stronger than she seems. "Why?"

"Because I want some friends. I so lonely out in the woods all by myself."

"Kidnapping people is no solution! And what happened to your old friends?"

"What friends?" Ginger jumped. She hardly expected such bitterness from such a little girl. What had happened to her? "I never had any friends. Never!"

"I feel kinda sorry for you. But, like I said earlier, Tara, kidnapping people isn't the way to make new friends."

"Yes it is!"

"But-"

"You talk too much." Ginger felt fingers dig into her shoulders. "Fortunately I know how to make it stop."

-OOO-

Macie couldn't believe the ease of their escape. Not after the experience she had had before. Usually she would have been caught by now.

Now she was _really_ worried. Was this some kind of sick and twisted trap that lay in wait for the poor, unfortunates who thought they had managed to get away from that perverted girl's lair? Yes seemed far too likely to suit Macie.

At least this time around she had Dodie's help. Macie didn't know she could have done without it. Get re-caught most likely, she reflected ruefully.

But she just had to give her achy muscles a rest. They were screaming for it.

She sat down by a tree, resting back on it.

"Macie," Dodie said urgently, "we have to hurry. Do you want to get caught again?"

Macie shook her head.

Dodie pulled on Macie's arm to get her to stand. "Then there's no time for rest, Macie. We have to get to camp before that weird wolf gets us again."

Macie nodded. "Right."

She tried to get back up.

But her legs just wouldn't cooperate. They were just in too much pain! And her lacerated, beat-up bare feet are exactly very helpful either.

"Come on, Macie. We have to move!"

"I can't run anymore." She didn't meet Dodie's gaze. "Go on without me. I'll catch up to you."

Dodie slapped her. "No, you won't, Macie! If you fall behind here, then we won't see each other ever again!"

Macie shivered. Real, physical danger wasn't comfortable thinking about. But, unfortunately, simply wishing that it would go away just wasn't going to work. She nodded. And began, with Dodie's help, to get back up.

"Do you think you can run, Macie?"

Macie shook her head. "No. I don't think so."

Dodie sighed. "Then I will have to help carry you."

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?"

"We don't much really have a choice here, now do we?"

"I suppose not."

-OOO-

When Ginger awoke, she was surprised that it didn't hurt as badly as the last time. While her head and body were sore, this time she wasn't sorry that she was awake. Must be getting a little used to it. At any rate, now that she knew what she had gotten herself into, she could start on planning her way out of it. She had gotten out of tougher….

No, she hadn't. But that didn't really matter. She just hadn't been in tougher spots yet. You can't really get out of something that you haven't gotten into after all. And Ginger wasn't about to let a lack of experience block her escape attempt.

But she still was tied up and blindfolded inside a cave in the middle of nowhere. Not a whole lot of options there. As she struggled to get herself free, she noticed that the bounds were even tighter than before. She groaned. She wasn't getting out of there anytime soon.

But she had to keep trying though. The cave was a death trap. And besides it wasn't like there was else could she could be doing besides wet her pants. Her pants were damp enough as it was, thank you very much.

She began to feel for a rock sharp enough to cut the ropes tying her hands together. That hands were tied certainly didn't help things any. But she wasn't about to give up. The rock that she was looking for could have been just a mere millimeter away.

She froze when she sensed someone enter the room. There was no change in the level of light that Ginger could see, so whoever it was wasn't close enough to cover with her shadow. At least not to where her eyes were.

She lay perfectly still while the mysterious stranger did whatever she had came here to do. Though it was probably was Tara. Which was probably why Ginger was thinking of this stranger as a _she_, and not a _he_.

An interminable amount of time passed. And Ginger really started to worry.

"I see what you're trying to do," Tara's voice suddenly cut into the darkness. "You're hoping that I wouldn't notice your holding that piece of flint in your hand. Aren't you?"

Hope swelled in Ginger. So there _was_ a sharp rock somewhere in reach then.

Or was there? It all could be a trick to get her to move.

Either way, it wasn't going to work. She kept absolutely still.

"That's all right," Tara said.

"It is?"

"It won't do you _any_ good."

"Oh."

A shadow appeared and began to draw closer. "Now it's time to pay a game that I learned while I was at Arkham."

"Arkham."

"It's where my Mommy works."

"At where Miskatonic University?"

"That's right."

Ginger had a feeling that it was about to get a lot worse.


	15. The Race to Save Ginger

The Call of the Wild

Chapter 15: The Race to Save Ginger

As Told by Ginger copyright Viacom

Posted: Jun 17 2012

Noelle woke with a start.

Something huge and very dark was looming over her. It was barely more than a shadow. She lay absolutely still as she tried to figure what it could be. She felt nervous. But she wasn't about to let a little thing like that stop her. She wasn't about to lie there and cry like a little baby and do nothing!

She could now see it a little better. What appeared to be a large wolf was standing over her and reaching out to her with its arms. Wait that couldn't be right. Wolves don't have _arms_.

It was only when the "wolf" held her down by the shoulders and she felt its hot, stinky breath that she redacted. Hard.

The wolf went flying high through the air. What seemed like forever passed as it soared through the air. Before it hit its back against a pine tree. Noelle waited, while trying to her breath back, for the beast to show the slightest bit of moment.

It took awhile, but she finally accepted the fact that it wasn't going to.

Not in this lifetime anyway.

Noelle wept for the poor creature. It had been one of God's creatures, and she had simply… killed it. Without any thought at all. Its life snuffed out just because she couldn't keep her feat in check.

She was a murderer!

She curled up into a ball and began to cry.

She didn't see the other wolf sneaking up on her.

"Noelle! Look up!"

She did. And smiled. It hadn't so wrong to kill the wolf-thing after all. She could definitely feel an aura of evil coming from this one. Thanks to Carl's well-timed warning, she finally learned the truth and could stop feeling sorry for herself. Not with the thing now creeping toward Carl.

She had to act.

Now.

Quickly she tried flinging the new wolf as well. But it wouldn't budge. It turned in Noelle's direction. "_You really think that works against _me_?_" it said to her without moving its mouth.

"W-who are you?" she asked nervously.

It leered at her. "_Your executioner._"

"Executioner?" Carl didn't look too happy. "What for?"

_"No one must interfere with Tara's plans to get a new friend."_

Tara? Noelle wondered. Who's that? "Why can't she find friends the old-fashioned way?"

"_This _is_ the old fashioned way._"

"Since when?"

"_Since ten thousand years ago._"

"Oh." Ten thousand years. That must mean…. "Just how old _are_ you?"

"_That is irreverent. Tara requires friends. And I am the one who must provide her them._"

"Stealing them won't make her any friends!" Carl slid closer to the action. "You have to be a friend yourself!"

"_Silence! You are a danger to my mistress and must be eliminated._"

"I don't think so!" Carl slipped behind Noelle, and she felt him hand her a knife. "That wouldn't be very nice, now would it, Noelle?"

"No, it wouldn't," she agreed.

"_You really think that knife of yours would do you any good_?"

"So you noticed huh?"

The wolf made no response.

Noelle's grin was feral. "Let's just see what this baby can do then, shall we?"

They lunged toward each other.

-OOO-

After an hour or so of searching for the kids, Lois was beginning to lose a little heart in this endeavor. There didn't seem any sign of Ginger, of her friends. Of course it was a little hard to tell with the dry brush underfoot. "See anything yet, Roberta?"

"No. Nothing yet."

Lois sighed. "We can't keep looking like this. We weren't getting anywhere this way."

"What do you suggest then?" Roberta didn't look the tiniest bit tired. What was she? A zombie? "I'm out of good ideas myself."

"Well we…." Lois trailed off. She couldn't think of anything either. And she was supposed to be the responsible one here. She was the nurse of the group. The Lightfoots may have been doctors, but they weren't _medical_ doctors. Psychology may have its place. But that wasn't in the middle of a freaking emergency!

"Lois, do you have any idea what _this_ thing is?" Roberta picked up something that looked like a glass ball. Only it was concave, instead of the usual convex. The exact opposite of what ball should be shaped. She had trouble picturing it. But it was _right_ there for her to see. So she had to have some idea what it looked like. Yet she didn't.

"No. But I don't think I like it."

"It's probably a clue." Roberta placed it in her pocket. Somehow.

A scream pierced the night.

Lois ran toward the scream without waiting for Roberta.

"What was that?" Roberta asked behind her.

Lois didn't answer. She just kept running.

"Lois! What is it? Where are you going!"

-OOO-

They had made a break for it the first chance they got. They just hadn't get very far.

That creepy girl had somehow found them again.

And was blocking their one and only escape route. Through the chain-link fence. Dodie didn't like it. How long had _that_ been there?

"How does she do that?" Dodie wondered.

"So you want to know all my secrets do you?" Tara's tone wasn't a friendly one. Not friendly at all.

"Not really. No." It was Macie who spoke. Dodie was much too scared to.

"I thought not." She drew closer. "Too bad. Friends share each their secrets." She had a dangerous gleam in her eye. "Let's start with yours, shall we?"

She drew even closer. "So you know, I have your little friend back in my cave. If you ever want to see her again you best come with me. Quietly."

"But why can't we make a sound?"

"You talk too much."

"Ah." Dodie grabbed Macie's hand and bolted.

Macie didn't think that it was a very good idea, but she wasn't much in a position to argue just then. Dodie was surprisingly strong. "Don't you think we should back?"

"No. Absolutely not!"

"But she said she was going to hurt Ginger."

"She was bluffing."

"I don't know about you, Dodie, but I don't I'm willing to take that chance."

Dodie stopped running. "Uhm…."

"I think we should go back."

"Yeah. You're probably right."

Tara appeared from behind a tree. "I knew that you would see it my way."

-OOO-

They ran.

They ran as fast as their little legs would let them.

Through trees, bushes, and barbed-wire fences.

"I thought the knife would have been more helpful than that," Carl observed as they ran for their lives. The wolf wasn't all that far behind them.

"It bought us more time. What more could you ask for?"

"True." Carl stole another glance behind them. "Do you think that you actually hurt that thing?"

"No. Not really."

"Ah."

"But I think that we bought ourselves more time."

"Can't ask for anything more."

"No," Noelle agreed. "No we can't."

They ran past a tree that bore a remarkable resemblance to a cross. "I think this might be a good sign, Carl."

"What are you talking about? Of course it's a good sign. It's a cross for crying out loud!"

_"Tell that to Spartacus."_

Carl cursed. The wolf had somehow gotten in front of them. Now what were they supposed to do? And what was with the Spartacus reference?

_"Now is that any way to talk in front of a lady?"_

"Huh?"

"That's not the first time I heard him say stuff like that," Noelle put in.

The wolf growled.

"I don't think that helped us very much, Noelle," Carl whispered into her ear.

"I was just saying."

"Uh-huh."

_"Silence!"_ They became silent. _"Do you always argue this much?"_

"We weren't arguing," they said.

_"I meant with your elders!"_

They shared a glance before replying. "No."

_"No matter. You two seem to be excellent playmates for Tara. Perhaps I will keep you alive. For her sake."_

"We're nobody's playmates. I know what I'm talking about here, Noelle. You don't have to give me that look." Noelle looked away. "Trust me. I have an idea."

"I hope that's it a good one."

"Oh, it is." He whispered it in her ear.

Noelle nodded as she listened. "Yes that could work," she said when Carl was finished.

_"You think you are so clever, don't you?"_

Carl shrugged. "Yeah. Pretty much."

_"Let's just see how clever you are when I do this."_

Okay. Time to implement the plan. Carl held onto Noelle's hand.

And began to run the other way.

"I thought we were-"

"I lied."

"But-"

"_That_ was the idea I had."

"Oh." They jumped over a log. "I don't he liked being lied to."

"Who does?" He shrugged. "Besides I don't think that not ticking him was much of an option."

"True. But you didn't have to do it so… decisively."

_"She's right, you know."_ They skid to a halt as the wolf came out from behind a tree. _"You didn't have to be so reckless."_

-OOO-

It had been a while since they heard the screaming. And they had traveled quite a distance since then.

So she had no idea if they were getting close or not. But that wasn't going to stop Joann from saving her baby. No way that she was ever going to let anything happen to Deidre Hortense. Or to Robert Joseph.

Ever.

Unfortunately running to save her with a ten-year-old boy on your back wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do. But she simply couldn't put him down. He had sprained his foot and couldn't keep up.

"Mom," Robert said from her back, "I don't think that was Dodie that screamed. I never heard her ever make a scream like that. Ever."

"I think that I would know her voice better, Robert Joseph. I have known her a lot longer than you have."

"I suppose…."

He trailed off when they came upon a curious sight. A little girl was staring down both Deidre Hortense and Macie. "What the heck is going on here?"

The girl shot Joann an accusatory look. "Your daughters here won't play with me."

Actually only one was her daughter, but Joann wasn't so crass to point that out. She was too intent on finding her daughter after that long search. She forgot to let down Robert Joseph as she embraced Deidre Hortense. "I finally found you, Dodie."

The hairs on the back of Joann's neck bristled as she heard, "I'm talking here!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Joann replied without letting go. "What seems to be the problem?"

"NOBODY WANTS TO PLAY WITH ME!"

Joann winced. "There's no need to shout."

"YES THERE IS!" She began to calm down. "I'm sorry, lady. I didn't mean to scream like that. I'm not used to being around people."

"Oh? What about your parents?"

"They don't count."

Joann frowned. That can't be right. "But they're your parents. Of course they count."

"Not to me."

The mother of a daughter herself sighed. The poor girl couldn't have a pleasant time growing up. "Oh I see. Have they done something to you?"

"No. That's the problem."

"Oh?"

"They ignore me completely."

"I won't ignore you."

The smiled. "I know you won't."

"That's good to hear. I-" Joann froze when a shadow appeared overhead. "What is that?"

"My pet. Do you like him?"

Robert Joseph stood. "Not really. No."

-OOO-

Noelle fluttered her eyes at the wolf. "Now what is a handsome wolf such as yourself doing in the wild all by himself?"

"_You fool! I _am _the wild._"

"Oh." Noelle chewed on her lip. "That changes things, doesn't it?"

"Yes it would if it were true."

"Eh?"

"Just because he says it doesn't make it true."

_"Oh, but it is true. I would never tell a lie."_

"Uh huh."

It smiled. _"I have no need to lie to you, my prey. There is nothing you can do to save yourselves."_

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Carl calmly replied.

_"Explain."_

"Ha! I don't have to explain anything to you at all."

The wolf back-handed him. And Carl went flying.

A little while later, when he returned to consciousness, he wished that he hadn't. His head felt as if his brain had been put in backwards. He felt his cheek where the wolf had struck him. At least it hadn't left a scratch.

As he took in his surroundings he noticed something else of import.

The wolf was gone.

"Where did our charming host go?"

That was when he noticed that Noelle was also gone.

"Damn. This can't be good."

He was about to stand up, despite the ache in his head, and run after her when she returned from the trees carrying a load of logs. "Oh good. You're awake." She paused. "I think you should take it easy, Carl. You just conked on the head. There's a good chance that you have a concussion."

"No I'm good."

Noelle gave him a funny look. "Okay. If you say so." She dumped the logs onto the ground and got out a matchbook.

"Did you heard my question earlier, Noelle?"

She shook her head.

"It was nothing. I just was noticing that the wolf was gone."

"Oh right. He said that his mistress needed him and left soon after hitting you."

"Huh." Now who was this mistress that the wolf was…? "His?" Carl asked incredulously.

"He seems like a male wolf, doesn't her?"

He, knowing better than to argue, tried to sit back up. He felt a little woozy, but he didn't let that stop him. That took Noelle pressing against his chest to do that. "I don't think that's a very good idea, Carl. You did take that blow to the head."

"That's not important, Noelle. We have to keep moving if you don't want the wolf to come back."

"I think we have it pretty much established that moving won't help with that."

Carl didn't answer. His only company just then might just very well have a point.

"Besides that I think we have a bigger problem."

"Oh?"

"Where had the wolf run off _to_?

Carl took this all in. Until the full meaning of Noelle's words soaked in. "Oh crap."


End file.
